Johanna Pas

Johanna Pas is a poet, literary translator, and the owner of queer bookshop Kartonnen Dozen in Antwerp. She translated work by Kae Tempest, Emma Donoghue and Jonathan Kemp. As a queer writer and as a member of the Klimaatdichters (Climate Poets), activism is an inextricable part of her work. One of her themes is our longing for and fear of freedom. Her work was published in several literary magazines and poetry collections and she published three poetic novellas: “Alleen met jou”, “Soms gaan bomen staande dood” and “De rug van een hand”.

During The Evening School of Gentle Disarming, she will be reading from “Alleen met jou / Lonely with you” (a poetic novella) and the poetic fairy tale “De toren / The Tower”. After this she will discuss the theme of the texts: our complex relationship to freedom. How we long for it, yet fear it, both in our personal relationships and in society as a whole. Relating the topic to her own life and struggles.